Monday, February 28, 2011

Fife McCargo Graduates Suzuki Book 1

Fife McCargo performs at CYM's March 2010 Community Concert

Congratulations to Fife McCargo as she graduates Suzuki Book 1! Her graduation recital is scheduled for this Wednesday, March 2nd at 4:40pm. CYM friends and family are invited to attend the event. Great job, Fife!

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Pristine Pines Performance in Review

Congratulations to all the students who participated in the outreach concert at Pristine Pines last Friday evening! The concert was a great success and was enjoyed by all who attended- our CYM families as well as the residents of the Pristine Pines community. A big thank you to our teachers and staff for making the evening possible! Below are highlights from the evening. Enjoy!

Meredith Hudock, Haley Raphael, Elsa Lagerquist

Karsten Lagerquist

Britta Lagerquist
Elsa Lagerquist, Haley Raphael, Meredith Hudock

Lochlan McGinnis

Ava Heinricher

Haley Raphael, Karolina Lagerquist, Heather Raphael

Nicholas and Adrianna Vieira

Manus and Alicia McGinnis

Alexandra Schnatterly

Lochlan McGinnis, Nicholas Vieira, Manus McGinnis

Britta Lagerquist and Ava Heinricher

Sarah Pitell and family

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Young Musicians to perform at Pristine Pines


CYM is proud to announce an exciting outreach concert this coming Friday evening at Pristine Pines assisted living and memory care community in Franklin Park. CYM's Chamber Music group will be performing as well as solo violin, piano, and cello. Students participating include Meredith Hudock, Elsa Lagerquist, Haley Raphael, Karolina Lagerquist, Lochlan McGinnis, Ava Heinricher, Nicholas Vieira, Manus McGinnis, Alexandra Schnatterly, Britta Lagerquist, Karsten Lagerquist, Anthony Cicco, Heather Raphael, and Sarah Pitell. The performance will take place at 6:00 pm in the activity room.

Parents as Partners Review by Ms. Michelle Bitler


Ms. Michelle instructs students in the Eden Strings program

 For those parents already participating in the Parents as Partners Online through CYM and the Suzuki Association of Americas website, there has already been a wealth of information and insight provided on the topic of parents, teachers, students, and their interwoven relationship on the journey
through music education. Below, CYM's own Michelle Bitler shares her thoughts on one of the videos as part of Parents as Partners:

Confessions of a Suzuki Teacher and Future-Suzuki Parent: Reflections on Giving Time Unconditionally

Everett and Santha Rae Goodwin share thoughts in “Practice: Seeing the Results of Long Term Commitment.”  I found one point to be particularly convicting and thought-provoking.  The Goodwins  emphasized how important affirmation is to our children.  Within the context of affirmation, the couple talked about giving time unconditionally.  

My immediate response upon hearing about this was guilt—guilt because I am admittedly selfish with my time.  I must constantly feel productive by adult-standards; my self-imposed to-do list is endless; I multi-task whenever possible (in fact, I’m typing this one-handed while giving my son a bottle).   The Goodwins’ point is that time should be given as a gift and should be unhurried.  While I find gifting time to my son not difficult, the challenge for me is remaining unhurried.  

My guilt led me to take action.  My “action” did not manifest itself in changes to my schedule; it meant an attitude-shift.  I think that in many families, schedules are somewhat fixed.  We can’t give too much more time for practicing, even if we wanted to.  But we can pour more energy and affirmation into the time that we devote to our children.  My son “practices” through play: we play piano, we play with toys, we play through laughter.  Giving time and spending  time mean different things to me now.  I sometimes grudgingly spend money, but am happy to give money when the need is there.  When I see the joy and excitement on my son’s face as we interact, I want to give him everything I have.  I need to be more aware of the quality of time I offer my son.  I need to remind myself that he will soon nap, he will soon want to play by himself, or hubby will soon be home—so those other grown-up projects can wait.  Engaging our children takes energy, but it can also be very energizing.  

I have seen other parents model the attitude of unconditional time-giving: they are so present when it comes to interacting with their children and I can see that the parent is very aware of the child’s needs even if the child is not.  I do not know what is on these families’ weekly agendas, but that matters little as I see the bond between parent and child.  

I am less guilt-ridden now, but do require many self-reminders.   I am learning that the first step towards giving time unconditionally to my son is being intentional with my actions and attitudes.   When I see him smile or hear him laugh, I know that I’m on the right track.

Monday, February 14, 2011

CYM Strings at the Children's Museum

Britta Lagerquist accompanied by sister Elsa Lagerquist.

Karsten Lagerquist

Congratulations to Karsten and Britta Lagerquist for their lovely performances at the Children's Museum this past Saturday morning! Featured artists as a part of "Studio Music," museum-goers enjoyed Karsten's cello performance as well as Britta's violin performance accompanied by her sister Elsa, also on violin.

Friday, February 4, 2011

Ingrid Beute in Concert with the Westminster College Orchestra


MOZART CONCERTO K365
FOR 2 PIANOS & ORCHESTRA
Soloists:
Ingrid Beute & Nancy DeSalvo
                             
Thursday, March 3, 2011 – 7:30 pm
Westminster College Orchestra
Will W. Orr Auditorium

Admission is free and open to the general public

 Westminster College
319 S. Market St. New Wilmington, PA 16172-0001
Campus map and directions available at the following website:

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Do you Hullabaloo?


 If you haven't already heard, we are so excited to host the first annual CYM Hullabaloo concert this coming March.  The concert is scheduled for Saturday, March 5th at 4:00 pm at the Wexford United Presbyterian Church. We are so excited to see the surprise performances from our students and families, and we're even planning a faculty performance of Steve Reich's "Clapping Music" for the occasion. Check out this clip of a juggling troupe performing the piece!
This merry bunch will be performing together at the Hullabaloo- you should, too!   





We want you to join in on the fun! To sign up or just say you are interested, send a line to: tsatteson@youngmusicians.org or info@youngmusicians.org. See you there!